akester



(No Model.) w 2 Sheets-Sheen l.

W. H. AKESTER. ELECTRIC ARC LAMP.

No. 496,387. Patented Apr. 25, 1892.

2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

W.. H. AKESTER. ELECTRIC ARG. LAMP.

Patented Apr. 25.. 1893.

(No Model.)

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

`WILLIAM I-IOPKIN AKESTER, OF LONDON, ENGLAND.

ELECTRIC-ARC LAMP.

SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 496,387, dated April25, 1893.

Application tiled September 9, 1892. Serial No. 445,475. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern,.-

Beit known that I, WILLIAM HoPKrN AKEs- TER, electrical engineer, asubject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Fulham, London, inthe county of Middlesex, England, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in or Connected with Electric-Arc Lamps, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to that class of arc lamps in which a solenoid oran electro magnet is employed to assist in controlling or regulating thefeed of the carbons and the object of the present invention is to obtaina more sensitive device for elfecting that purpose. For this purpose Iattach to each carbon holder orto a suitable part fixed thereto avertical slide or rod as heretofore proposed and I connect the twoslides or rods by a flexible connection which may pass through thehollow core of the solenoid and over a guide pulley so that upon thedescent of the slide or rod of the lower carbon the carbons will beseparated while upon the ascent thereof they will approach each other.The upper carbon holder and rod are made heavier than those of the lowercarbon so that when the gripping device hereinafter described, isreleased, the superior weight of such upper carbon holder and rod'willcause the carbons to approach until arrested.

Around the slide or rod of the lower carbon and supported upon asuitable spring I arrange a box or case which I lill, or nearly so, withspherical pellets, and upon the top of these pellets I place a disk orwasher formed with the central aperture to loosely receive the slide orrod.

In connection with the disk or washer I employ a lever which is mountedupon an axis of motion and one end of which lever I provide with a setscrew to bear upon the disk or Washer, and I connect the opposite endthereof with the core of the solenoid by a suitable flexible connection.By these means, upon the core of the solenoid descending, the oppositeend of the lever will be raised permitting the disk or washer to assumea horizontal position thereby freeing the slide or rod while upon thecore of the solenoid rising the lever will press upon the disk and tiltor cant it until it grips upon the slide or rod and thereby arrests thefurther movement thereof and this action is materially assisted by thepellets contained within the box or case which upon being displaced bythe depression of the disk or washer at one side will rise upon theother side of the box or case and assist the canting action of the diskor washer while, at the same time, they constitute an auxiliary grip.lVhen the slide or rod is gripped by the disk or washer, and pellets aslastly described the continued pressure of the arm of the lever upon thedisk or washer will cause the slide or rod to be slightly depressedthereby compressing the spring and striking the arc.

In some cases, I arrange the gripping device in connection with theslide or rod of the upper carbon and I then x the set screw on the leverat a point between its axis and point of connection with the core of thesolenoid or I may dispense with the employment of the lever, and in lieuthereof, prolong the lower end of the core of the solenoid and bend itoutward. I also invert the box or case containing the disk or washer andspherical pellets so that the disk or washer is below the pellets, and Iprovide the end of the core of the solenoid with a set screw, which, onthe rising of the said core comes into contact with the under face ofthe disk or washer and causes it to be tilted or canted and the slide orrod to be gripped and slightly raised so as to separate the carbons andstrike the arc. In this case, the action of the weight of the pellets,and the box or case obviates the necessity for a spring.

I have hereinbefore described the employment of a solenoid for effectingthe purpose of my invention, but when an electro magnet of ordinary formis employed the set screw provided for the purpose of tilting or cantingthe disk or washer is carried by the armature or some part moving inunison therewith. And in order that the said invention may be moreclearly understood and readily carried into effect, I will proceed,aided by the accompanying drawings, more fully to describe the same.

In the draWings-Figure l represents an elevation partly in section of anelectric arc lamp constructed according to the present invention andwith the globe removed. Fig. 2

IOO

is an elevation thereof taken at right angles to Fig. 1. Fig. 3represents a portion of Fig. l drawn to an enlarged scale. FigAisa planthereof. Figs. 5 and 6 are similar views to Fig.3 representingslig'htmoditicationsin the arrangement of parts.

In the several figures like parts are indicated by similar letters ofreference.

Referring to Figs. l to 4 ct represents the runnerwhich carries theholder a3 of the positive or upper carbon ct whileb represents theholder for the negative or lower carbon b. The carrier or holder a3 ofthe upper carbon a,which holder is insulated from the runner CL by amica plate or other insulating material a3*, is made heavier than theholder or carrier b of the lower carbon, and it is arranged to slide upand down upon two vertical side rods c of the lamp, in the manner nowwell known, and the carrier or holder a3 is connected by means of a roda2 to one end of a chain or other suitable flexible connection CZ whichpasses over a pulley al mounted loosely upon a shaft or axle d2 carriedin bearings in a bracket d* from a tube e connecting the two plates e e*of the frame of the lamp. Or, if desired, the bracket d* might becarried by the top plate e or other convenient part of the frame of thelamp. The other end of the flexible connection d is attached to theupper end of a rod b2 rising vertically from the carrier or holder b ofthe negative carbon b. Beneath the pulley d and iixed to the tube e isarranged va solenoid f provided with a hollow movable soft iron core fthrough the center of which passes freely the rod a2 and part of itsattached chain d. Around the slide or rod b2 of the lower car- Y bonholder b and supported upon a suitable spring g or it might be upon theend of a counter balanced lever is arranged a cylindrical box or case gclosed at each end with the exception of a central aperture to allow ofthe passage of the rod b2, and this box or case g is filled or nearly sowith spherical pellets g* and upon the top of these pellets is placed adisk or washer g2 formed with a central aperture therein to looselyreceive the slide or rod b2.

In connection with the disk or washer g2 is employed a lever hmountedupon an axis of motion h carried by a short standard h* rising from theplate et, and one end of this lever is formed with a downward projectionor hook h2, or.it might be provided with a set screw which passesthrough a small aperture provided in the top of the box g and bears uponthe disk or washer g2 at one side thereof, while the opposite end of thelever h is bifurcated to embrace the tube e and atits ends is furnishedwith screw studs h3* which pass through long slots e* formed in the tubee and screwinto the core f of the solenoid f so that the lever h ispivotally connected therewith.

The action` of the mechanism hereinbefore described is a followsz-Thepassage of the current through the coil of thesolenoid causes the softiron core f to be more orless raised or drawn farther into the center ofthe solenoid according to the strength of the current, while upon thecurrent diminishing or ceasing the core f will correspondingly descendas is well understood. When no current is passing through the lamp thesuperior weight of the carrier or holder a3 will bring thek carbons Ct binto contact, and the hooked end h2 of the lever h will be raisedpermitting the disk or washer g2 to assume a hori- -zontal position asindicated in the drawings,

and thereby freeing the slide or rod b2, and permitting it to rise orfall, while upon the currenty being admitted it passes by the terminalf* andr conductor'f2 of solenoid f and after passing therethrough it isled bythe conductor]c3 to the carrier a3 of the upper carbon ct. It thenpasses through the carbons a b', carrier or holder b, slide or rod b2and the frame of the lamp to the terminal 6*. The passage of the currentthrough the coilf of the solenoid causes the soft iron core f to beraised or drawn farther into the center of the solenoid thereby causingthe hooked end h2 of the lever h to press upon the disk or washer g2 andtilt or cant it, until it grips the slide or rod b2 and thereby arreststhe further movement thereof, and this action is materially assisted bythe pellets g* contained within the box or case g, which upon beingdisplaced by the depression of the disk or washer g2 at one side willrise upon the other side of the box or case g, and assist the cantingaction of the disk or washer g2 while at the same time they constitutean auxiliary grip. Vhen the slide or rod b2 is gripped by the disk orwasher g2 and pellets g* as lastly described, the continued pressure ofthe hooked end h2 of the lever h upon the disk or washer g2 willcompress the spring g or depress the counterbalanced lever as the casemay be and cause the slide or rod b2 to be slightly depressed therebystriking the arc. The intensity of IOO the current being now diminished,the core f .n

of the solenoid f will descend to its normal position and will therebyraise the hooked end h2 of the lever h and permit the disk or washer g2to resume its horizontal position thereby again freeing the slide or rodb2 and permitting the spring g to re-assert itself.

In the example given at Fig. 5, the box g is arranged in connection withthe rod CL2 of the upper carbon a and is supported in an invertedposition, and with' capability of vertical movement by lugs 6**projecting downward from the plate e* while the post orstandard h* isarranged upon the under side of the plate e* and the axis of motion 7iof the lever h is arranged at one end thereof, and the opposite end isby a link h3 connected with a bracket or projection f4 from the core fof the solenoid f the projection Ah2 of the lever h being in this case aset screw arranged between its axis h and its point of connection withthe link h3.

In the example given at Fig. 6, the parts are similar to those lastlyhereinbefore described, but in this case the lever h is dispensed withand a projection or bracket f4 from the solenoid f is carried down tosupport the set screw h2 which bears upon the disk g2 of the box or caseg.

The operation of the two devices lastly hereinbefore described issubstantially the same as that described with respect to Figs. 1, 2, 3and 4, and will be readily understood upon reference thereto, the weightof the box or case g and pellets g* in these two examples taking theplace of the spring g.

I have hereinbefore descr-ibed the employment of a solenoid foreffecting the purpose of my invention, but when an electro magnet ofordinary form is employed,the set screw h2 the purpose of which is totilt or cant the disk or washer g2 is carried by the armature or somepart moving in unison therewith as will be readily understood.

Vhat' I claim isl. In an electric arc lamp, the combination of twocarriers for the carbons supported by the lower ends of suitable rodssuspended by means of a iiexible connection passing over a pulley, avertically movable box or oase surrounding one of the rods and filledwith spherical pellets and held in its normal position by a spring orweight, a loose disk or washer within the box, a solenoid and astnd orprojection connected with the core of the solenoid and bearing upon theloose disk, substantially as herein shown and described and for thepurpose stated.

2. In an electric arc lamp, a regulating device consisting of avertically movable box or case filled with spherical pellets and held inits normal position by a spring or weight, a rod passing therethroughand connected with one ot the carbons, an apertured disk located withinthe box and a stud orprojection bearing upon the disk and carried bysome eleotrically controlled part of the lamp, substantially as hereinshown and described and for the purpose stated.

IVILLIAM HOPKIN AKESTER.

Witnesses:

GEORGE EDWARD VAUGHAN, 57 Chancery Lane, London.

S. E. HAwkEs, 24 Victoria Rd., Forest Gate, London.

